By CLEM OLUWOLE
Penultimate week dealt me heavy emotional blows with the passing of two remarkable Nigerians whose lives shaped institutions, inspired generations and left indelible footprints on our national journey. First came the devastating news of the death of former Provincial Secretary, Sokoto Province, and pioneer Secretary to the Military Government (SMG) of Kwara State, Chief Joseph K. Aderibigbe.
And before I could fully process that loss, another shock struck: my dear friend and intellectual titan, Professor Sandra Ladi Adamu, succumbed to illness in an Abuja hospital, a development announced by one of her former students on social media. The news hit me with such force that I instinctively reached for a mirror to confirm I had not turned to stone.
Chief Aderibigbe: A technocrat of rare distinction
My relationship with Chief Aderibigbe, the Erin Ile-born technocrat, dated back to the mid-60s through my brother-in-law, Dr. Michael Olarinoye Shona, then Medical Officer of Health in charge of Birnin Kebbi General Hospital. Chief Aderibigbe, at the time Provincial Secretary of the vast Sokoto Province, was one of the revered ‘big men’ I looked up to during my childhood.
Following the 1967 balkanisation of Nigeria by the Gowon administration, both men were posted to the newly created Kwara State. Chief Aderibigbe, as one of the most senior civil servants in the Northern Region, became Secretary to the Military Government, while Dr. Shona headed the General Hospital in Ilorin.
Initially, when Dr. Ishaq Modibbo Kawu’s tribute appeared, I did not immediately connect the name to the Aderibigbe I knew. Given Nigeria’s low life expectancy, I had assumed he might have passed long ago. But recalling that Dr. Shona lived up to 95 before his passing two years ago, it made sense that Chief Aderibigbe was already approaching his centenary when he breathed his last.
Our paths crossed again in Jos when he attended the meeting of the Interim Common Services Agencies (ICSA), hosted by the Benue-Plateau State Government. I was by then a journalist with THE NIGERIA STANDARD Newspaper assigned to cover the event and the cocktail at the Government Lodge, Tudun Wada. He recognised me instantly and was astonished that ‘little Bisi’, as he and Dr. Shona fondly called me, was now a reporter with the newly established NIGERIA STANDARD Newspaper of Jos. His excitement was such that he drew me aside for a long conversation, trying to piece together how the boy he remembered had grown into a journalist covering such a high-profile assignment.
He confided that the Kwara State Government was planning to establish a newspaper and urged me to return home to help pioneer it. Though I agreed outwardly, I knew internally that leaving Jos — a town whose clement weather matched my own name — would not be easy. I had already vowed that ‘no Jupiter’ would compel me to abandon the city after securing my dream job.
Opportunities lost, the path not taken
Months later came an advertisement announcing massive recruitment for the Nigerian Herald Newspaper. At the same time, THE NIGERIA STANDARD management had selected me for sub-editing training at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, hoping to retain me after sensing efforts from my home state to lure me away.
Unknown to me, Chief Aderibigbe went ahead and included my name among those shortlisted for the Herald interviews. Colleagues who attended later reported that my name was repeatedly called throughout the process, leaving me deeply disappointed for failing a man who believed in my potential.
A decade later, in 1985, my uncle encouraged me to apply for the vacant position of General Manager of the Herald. A courier delivered the interview invitation to me at a time when the outgoing company secretary — an Offa native and a friend of my uncle — had arranged for me to stay at Kwara Hotel, Ilorin. Unfortunately, the letter arrived on a Friday afternoon ahead of a Saturday interview. Driving overnight from Jos was impossible, and I still had to produce the next edition of the SUNDAY STANDARD as Editor.
Ironically, Dr. Olatunji Dare — now Professor of Mass Communication — chaired the Herald board at the time. We had worked together earlier in Birnin Kebbi where he taught Chemistry while I served as laboratory assistant. I always hoped to reconnect and ask how he transitioned into journalism, just as he would surely be curious about my own journey from the science lab to the newsroom. Chief Aderibigbe too would have been proud to know that although I did not join Herald as a reporter, I nearly returned as its General Manager.
Prof. Ladi Adamu: An intellectual light extinguished
My relationship with Professor Sandra Ladi Adamu — “Prof. Sandy”, as I fondly called her — was rooted in journalism. A brilliant, calm intellectual from Pankshin, she was one of the many Ngas individuals who enriched my circle of friends from Plateau State. Although she excelled brilliantly in broadcast journalism, she engaged seamlessly with my world of newspapering.
Whenever she travelled to Jos from her base at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, she made sure to reach out. A devoted reader of my column in THE NIGERIA STANDARD, she fondly described it as “my humour clinic”, often joking about how the laughter it provoked could leave one needing a POP.
Her beauty in her younger years was legendary, prompting one playful remark from me:
“I am sure Baba hung ‘Military Zone, Keep Off’ around your neck to stave off the predators.”
Her laughter each time I repeated the joke remains one of my fondest memories of her.
Professor Sandra Ladi Adamu, the first Professor of Broadcast Media of northern extraction, positively shaped countless students who passed through her intellectual mill. The vacuum her death has created will be difficult to fill, and her contribution to the field will be almost impossible to surpass.
May Almighty God grant eternal rest to Chief Aderibigbe and Professor Adamu, and grant their families, friends, colleagues and admirers the strength to bear these painful losses. Amen.
Oluwole writes from Abuja via clemoluwole@gmail.com